He has a name!

Dear SCR followers. For the past 9 months, we have had a very short list of girls names but a long list of boys names. One or two struck us early on, but as we never felt as confident about them as we did 'Sam' for our first, we continued to browse. We weren't too worried, thinking that when the baby arrived we'd know. Turned out it didn't really work that way.

So the day our son was born, we spent the morning combing the the 1,000,001 baby names book and came out with a list of 40. We said the names out loud to see baby's reaction. We said them in French. We combined them with Sam. We considered nicknames, middle name combos (we have been pretty sure about the middle name from the start) and how it sounded with the last name. We looked up trends. We tried a Sweet-16 bracket tournament.

But in the end there was a name that we liked early early on. It was a bit different, but we kept coming back to it. And ultimately, not only was there nothing we liked more, it really suited our little guy. We've been calling him by it for the past day or two and, even though we held off making it official until today, it fit. Once Sam started using it, we knew we were hooked.

And so he has a name...we are very pleased to introduce you to our son:

Rhys Victor Fowler

for pronunciation, click here

Rhys sleeping - what he loves to do. Mind you, he is only 3 days old.

Family of Four

Sam is very proud and interested...so far

Father and Son

Rhys - doing his laid back thing

Sam with breastfeeding pillow: a photo sure to mortify in about 11 years.

Leaving the hospital. Goodbye Evian, coquilles St Jacques and swordfish lunches.

Our boys at home.

House was spotless after bachelor weekend but Sam's hair could use, um, a wash?

BREAKING NEWS: Sam has a little....

cold. Just a case of the sniffles. Nothing too serious. I'm sure he'll feel better once we tell him he has a little brother!!

Wee (TBC) Fowler arrived this morning at 8:16am Geneva-time, weighing in at a healthy 9 lbs 2 oz. and an imposing 53cm. While smaller than Sam, this is apparently so big for Switzerland that the hospital has him on a special watch. Both Mom and Baby are doing great.

He looks an awful lot like his big brother, slightly smaller and with a bit less hair, but clearly cut from the same cloth. Early indications are that he's a sleeper. He has been awake for roughly 4 minutes of the 4 hours he's been here. We aren't counting on this ratio to hold over the longer term, but it's a nice introduction.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days. We'll post more later and try to keep you updated, including on a name, once we pick one.

Sam So Excited About the Imminent Arrival That He Passed Out During Mommy's Check-In Exam Last Night

One Last Belly Pic, Fully Ripe!

First Pic With the New Baby (Sarah Doing Considerably Better At This Stage Than Last Time)

Our Newest Addition: Happy Birthday Kid

Finally!

Our Little Guy Snoozing

Peaceful (This Will Not Last)

Despite the Heartburn, He Doesn't Quite Have Sam's Flowing Locks At Birth

Much love to everyone and thanks to all for the good wishes and kind words!!

Berlinerblog! (and Heidelburg)

We have a little something happening here this week so we thought we'd catch up on the blog front (sort of) so that the next instalment can focus on what you all are no doubt just dying to know about. The Argentina-Portugal match!

Oh, and the baby thing.

Right, so around mid-November we were struggling to decide what to do with ourselves over the holidays. We threw lots of ideas around: Barcelona, Prague, Venice... Finally, after contemplating the various options, we made like the British Cabinet in 1914 and decided we'd be in Berlin by Christmas. (Yes, that is a Great War joke. We strive to keep it current here at the SCR.)

Since we left things a bit late the discount airlines weren't so discount anymore and we decided to do the 12 hour drive to Berlin. A little worried about whether Sam could take that haul, we decided to spend a night en route in Heidelberg on a tip. Heidelberg is a lovely little university town situated on the Neckar river. It was spared heavy damage during the wars and boasts an impressive castle ruin looming over the city and a well-preserved old town centre in the baroque style. We arrived in a bit of a snowstorm after dark on December 26 (or Second Christmas) so our exploration was pretty much limited to the streets (where regular readers will know we enjoy takin' it to anyway).

Mom and Sam: Very Happy To Be Out of the Car

Sam Checking Out the Cathedral

Building: Baroque 1592

Heading Back to Our Hotel, Near the (Very Cool) Old Bridge

To be honest, we can't tell you much about Heidelburg other than that it looked very interesting and that, if you want to really rock your visit, maybe don't come after dark on Second Christmas. We will certainly try to get back for a more comprehensive visit sometime before our posting ends.

We can also tell you that many places in Heidelberg sell an amazing local delicacy called sneeballs ("snowballs") that are basically tiny pieces of dough shaped into a large ball then deep fried and dipped in some kind of delicious glaze. We can also recommend that you don't buy four of them for two adults and a two year-old.

Sam Slightly Intimidated By His Chocolate Sneeball

The next day it was back in the car for the rest of the journey to Berlin. We ran into heavy snow and heavy traffic and the day felt longer than the entire 13 hour marathon haul back to Geneva.

Sam: Proud Of/Exhausted By His Stickering

We stayed in a great little apartment hotel in the Mitte area of former East Berlin which had great connections to trams and trains that made visiting the city a breeze. (Free tip to City of Ottawa Leaders: Cities in Europe that want tourists have affordable, effective, efficient, integrated transit systems that showcase the city. Those that don't want visitors don't. Your call.)

Berlin underwent some.... serious urban restructuring, ahem... in the mid-20th century. It then had the opportunity to tear away a considerable amount of really ugly Soviet-era architecture over the past twenty years. The result is a city very different from other European cities in that it is very wide open. It also lacks an obvious city centre, with many eclectic and interesting neighbourhoods competing for attention.

We started by hitting the "tourist district" around the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate. It was cold and snowy and you can't really go inside either of these so we quickly moved on.

Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate: Where 1989 Comes Flooding Back So Fast It's Like They Have Jesus Jones on Permanent Loop

We then wandered past the truly moving and poignant Holocaust Memorial (aka Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) and spent some time visiting the attached museum. Walking among the almost 3000 stelae is a powerful and disorienting experience.

Sam At the Holocaust Memorial

We also made sure to get some good shots of Sam standing in front of the remaining bits of the Berlin Wall. This of course is entirely for our amusement. The Wall will be about as relevant a cultural reference point for him as the Suez Crisis was for me. Which is pretty awesome.

Sam: Confused At Being Asked to Stand in Front of Some Graffiti

We also hit some other really interesting cultural/educational spots, including Checkpoint Charlie and the very interesting but poorly organized Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the Topography of Terror museum which recounts German life under the Nazi regime, and the very cool Pergamon Museum that houses a number of massive archeological ruins (including immense buildings - Pergamon Altar, Ishtar Gate and others) brought back to (read: stolen by) Germany from the Middle East and Levant during the 19th century.

Our Colleague Derek, Who Was Also in Berlin, Hanging Out With Us at Checkpoint Charlie

Longest Remaining Section of the Wall, Outside the Topography of Terror

On Museum Island, Near the Pergamon Museum

But it wasn't all educational highlights. We also made a point of seeing some of Berlin's cooler kid-friendly sites with Sam, including the Lego Museum, the Zoo, the Natural History Museum (largest complete dinosaur skeleton - a brontosaurus) and the really cool Aquarium. Sarah did some shopping (see hat, above) and was impressed by the local design and variety of shops, vowing to come back for more when she got her mojo back (i.e. wasn't 7 months pregnant).

Okay Pal, Enough Culture, Time for Fun!

Sam Gets Hands-On at the Lego Museum

Feeding Goats at the Zoo

Chatting Up the Locals at the Bird House

DINOSAURS!!!

We were also there for New Years Eve, which we got to spend with our great friends Gerb and Gizem who just so happened to be in town from Ottawa. Great times were had by all, including the chaperone. One thing to note about that: the Germans really, really, really, really like fireworks. I mean really. It is difficult to communicate in mere words how much they like their fireworks. Ask Sarah and Sam how much they were still liking their fireworks at 3 a.m. when Sam was still up due to the noise (and oncoming flu, I suppose).

Smile Suggests He Dangerously Appreciates How Awesome This Car Is.

DJ Sam

DJ Sam, Ready for Club Night

Yes, the flu. One by one we fell victim to it, eating up the remaining week of our holidays and putting plans for skiing, sledding and other pursuits on hold. At least we got the lounging part in.

Our first Swiss Christmas

So...Christmas was a month and a half ago. I know. Things have been so busy at work, and I've been pleasantly lethargic in my late stages of pregnancy that neither of us has made a push to get the blog up to date. The arrival of Baby #2 in 9 days, and my plan to share some pics with you shortly after, is just the motivation I needed.

Despite being miles and 6 time zones away from family and friends, Christmas turned out to be a lot of fun this year - mostly due to the fact that Sam 'got it' for the first time. We did our big dinner on Christmas Eve this year, as we were planning to head to Berlin, Germany, on the 26th and didn't want to be too tired / have a big mess of dishes to clean up the night before. We invited some old friends from Ottawa who are living here in Geneva - Pinar, Attila and their girls Ince and Oya, as well as some new friends, Sarah Mak and her boyfriend Tak...who arrived that day...for dinner. I took the day off so that I could prep the spread: Turkey (thanks to our US colleague who picked up a good ole butterball in Germany), cinnamon sweet potatoes, cauliflower with cheese sauce, mashed potatoes, orange glazed carrots, rolls with butter, gravy and of course stuffing! We had so much food we fed ourselves several times while in Berlin, including turkey sandwiches for the road (more on Berlin next blog). I got to break out the good china (Mom and Dad's set), the crystal and the good silverware, and Aaron got to eat until he burst. Best of all, we were surrounded by friends and so we didn't have much time to lament over how lonely we were for our extended families. So busy that I didn't even take a single pic to share with you. Sorry!

After everyone left, Sam got into his pyjamas and put out some cookies and milk for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. This didn't make a lot of sense to him. He thought he should get to eat the cookie.

Sam setting out Santa and co.'s snack.

Sam was asleep fairly quickly (gets it...but doesn't quite get it. Next year will be bad no doubt), and we set about tidying up, wrapping some last gifts, and getting the place ready for Santa's arrival.

When we woke up the next morning (after 8 a.m. the last 8 a.m Christmas for the next 10-15 years no doubt) we couldn't believe the haul!

The haul

Seems Santa had done quite a bit of shopping, and also took note of Sam's request for a 'blue one...with wings' bringing a Playmobile airplane. This got some immediate love. Mommy and Daddy were very surprised by what excited Sam the most, though...the hockey stick and SCISSORS!!! The 'Scissors Cry' went on for a few minutes. Finally, a pair of scissors he could call his very own, and even touch! Next up were rules around what could and could not be cut (no....not your pyjamas, the Christmas tree or the cat...you can cut paper, after asking Mommy and Daddy if you can cut that particular piece of paper).

Favorite things: hockey sticks and scissors..YAY!

After the initial excitement over the gifts Santa had laid out, we noticed that he and Rudolph eaten their snacks (in fact, Santa had eaten his WHOLE snack - but luckily Mommy found another cookie out of which he had only taken a bite so Sam could see he had really been there). Santa also left Sam a very nice note...that Sam immediately wanted to cut up with his new scissors (luckily they don't work all that well)

To Sam, Love Santa

Lesson to new parents (us): A 2.5 year old can only stay interested for so long, even in something as magical as Christmas. We had to convince Sam to open his stocking. He wasn't keen to reach in there (not sure what he was expecting). He was, however, a great bringer of gifts and saved us from having to move much except to refill our coffee and open all the windows after lighting a fire with the flue closed (smoky pics not attached).

Sam wore his goggles like that most of the morning

We were all very spoiled, and got some great things that we either wanted, needed or made us think of home. We are very lucky.

Love my Canada mittens

One of the things I was most excited for Aaron to open was something Tak had brought from Canada the day before...BACON! Ineed, he was very pleased. We had a yummy brunch of Eggs Benedict and bacon and invited Julie, Darren and the kids over to enjoy it with us.

Playing hockey in the driveway while the bacon cooks

Aaron, Sam, Cedrik and Darren enjoying the bacon

All in all, Christmas was better than we could have hoped given that we were stuck in Switzerland. We got to skype the family in the afternoon and then we turned our attention to our next adventure...Berlin!